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ERIC CONOVER/Staff Photographer
People seeking a job check out the business booths at the Great Northeast 2013 Job Fair held Wednesday at Capriotti's Palazzo in McAdoo.

Dave Fidler can't understand why the unemployment rate is so high.

The recruiter for the Lehigh Carbon Technical Institute (LCTI) in Schnecksville, Lehigh County, said he has contractors banging his door down for his students trained to run heavy construction equipment.

When he saw cars parked up and down the entrance road to the McAdoo Industrial Park where Capriotti's Palazzo is located, he must have thought he had a good chance to find some students at the Second Annual Great Northeast Job Fair held Wednesday.

John Patton, general manager of the Standard-Speaker, said the response from employers was greater than it was for the first job fair sponsored by the Times-Shamrock Communications' newspapers Standard-Speaker and Pottsville Republican-Herald.

"We have 54 vendors, the same number as last year. We are sold out," Patton said. "But this year, we had a waiting list of vendors."

Paul Ross, the Standard-Speaker's advertising director, believes he knows why there was such a response.

Fidler said LCTI provides training for some of the companies who were at the fair.

"We are here today to provide training for those who want to move on to some of these vendors for jobs," Fidler said. "It's a little crazy out there right now. We have a lot of opportunities here in different careers that we do training in that we can't fill the jobs of contractors looking for these people. Yesterday, I was contacted by three contractors looking for people. I called my former students dating back to November, and they are all working. There are some great career opportunities here."

Fidler said LCTI trains people how to operate heavy equipment, and trains for the commercial drivers' license (CDL) needed to drive the big equipment.

"Most of the contractors in this area are looking for people, but they need the formalized training," Fidler said. "Not everybody needs a college degree. They might need some technical training."

Kathleen Natale of Hazleton, who graduated with a degree in graphic design from Kutztown University, was there just trying to find something she could live on, for now.

"I'm trying to get a job in an office that is more stable than the part-time jobs I've had," she said.

Joe Liberto of Wilkes-Barre came to the fair looking for something in electronics.

"I've been trained in the Pennsylvania National Guard and I am furthering my training at ITT Tech," Liberto said. "I came here to see what jobs are available."

Brian Hannaway, 42, of Pottsville, was looking for a new manufacturing job.

"The job market has been so hard," he said. "I held a position for 13 years before they downsized. I'm looking for a job I can retire from and have health benefits."

Some vendors returned from last year. One was Miners Bank.

"The location is excellent," said Jennifer Reiner, vice-president of human resources for Miners Bank. "Events like this makes it really easy for us to get in front of a lot of people. Normally, you don't get to meet the people face to face. Coming to an event like this, you can see them, talk to them, you can interact with them. You also get to talk to other businesses to find out what the staffing challenges are."

There were a lot of first-time companies there.

Jessica Mitchell of Around the Clock Nursing, a health care firm based in the Lehigh Valley, was at the fair looking for help to expand into this area.

Jeld-Wen, a manufacturer of garage doors, windows and interior and exterior doors that employs 450 in the Highridge Business Park, Schuylkill County, was there looking for production supervisors, industrial maintenance technicians, industrial paint sprayer.

"We thought it would be a good time to get our name out there," said Jennifer Rarig, human resources specialist. "We are seeing an increase in business, and we wanted to see what was out there as far as candidates for positions."

jdino@standardspeaker.com

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